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National real estate
foreclosures decreased 9.2 percent in September from the previous month,
continuing a two-month decline, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for
foreclosures.
A total of 68,646
properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in September, the
report shows.
"Foreclosures in
September dropped for the second month in a row, at least in part due to issues
related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said RealtyTrac CEO James J.
Saccacio. "Trends in the real estate market in general and foreclosure
properties in particular will be interesting to watch over the next few
months as new economic forces such as increasing interest rates and the
recently-passed bankruptcy laws come into play."
Despite the lower
foreclosure rates nationally, a number of states showed increased numbers of
foreclosures. Colorado reported 3,602 properties entering some stage of
foreclosure, a 50 percent increase from August and one foreclosure for every
508 households the highest foreclosure rate of any state and more than three
times the national average.
Foreclosure rates in
Georgia and Ohio were more than twice the national average thanks to
foreclosures increasing more than 20 percent in both states. With 3,923
properties entering some stage of foreclosure, Georgia foreclosures occurred at
one in every 789 households. With 5,799 foreclosures, the Ohio foreclosure rate
was one in every 825 households.
California documented
4,994 properties entering some stage of foreclosure in September, a 3.8 percent
increase. But with one foreclosure for every 2,446 households, the California
foreclosure rate was still well below the national average.
Although it documented
the most foreclosures of any state for the second month in a row, the number of
Texas foreclosures dropped 28 percent in September. The state reported a total of
9,736 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, one for every 827
households still more than twice the national average and the fifth highest
foreclosure rate of any state.
The Florida foreclosure
rate of one in every 796 households, registered as the nation's third-highest
foreclosure rate despite a 9.8 percent decrease in the number of foreclosures.
The state documented 9,183 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, the
second most of any state.
The Gulf Coast states
impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita continued to report lower than normal
foreclosures in September. After dropping significantly in August, when
Hurricane Katrina hit, the number of foreclosures in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama rebounded somewhat in September. But the three states still documented
fewer than half as many properties entering some stage of foreclosure as they
did in July.
Some of the drop in Gulf
Coast foreclosures can be attributed to actions taken by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, which has called for a 90-day moratorium on
foreclosures in federal disaster areas for properties that are insured by the
Federal Housing Administration. HUD also has suspended its home sales program
for close to 6,000 foreclosed properties in 11 states in and around the Gulf
Coast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Instead of being sold on the
market, those properties will be used for up to 18 months as temporary rent-free
housing for people displaced by the hurricanes.
RealtyTrac publishes a
large national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with
more than 550,000 properties in over 2,000 counties across the country.
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